The Senate will reconvene this afternoon at 3:00 P.M. and is not currently scheduled to vote on a House-passed measure to fund the government. The government shutdown is on track to become the longest in history on Tuesday, when it would eclipse the 2018-2019 funding lapse. Without an unforeseen breakthrough in the Senate, the current shutdown will match the 35-day mark tomorrow making it the longest ever by tomorrow evening.
Some senators have forecasted a possible end to the shutdown later this week, pointing to new opportunities for each side to relent. Republicans have argued that Democrats may be willing to reopen the government after Tuesday’s elections in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City. Meanwhile, Democrats say Republicans will face pressure to negotiate on their health care demands due to the rising health insurance premiums with new prices visible after open enrollment on the Affordable Care Act marketplace began over the weekend. A planned recess in the Senate next week is added incentive for senators to resolve the standoff. The president’s return to Washington also increases the likelihood of a resolution, since the White House would likely be involved in any talks to reach an agreement. In an interview on “60 Minutes,” President Donald Trump said his plan to end the shutdown is to “keep voting,” and, “If Democrats don’t vote, that’s their problem.” Over the weekend, the President continued to urge the Senate to do away with the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation, which would allow Republicans to fund the government without Democratic votes.
Looking at possible resolution, at least eight moderate Senate Democrats are meeting in hopes of finding a deal to end the monthlong government shutdown. The eight Democrats, who include Senators Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) and Jon Ossoff (Georgia), the latter a top Republican target in 2026, will need to feel comfortable with whatever is offered by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), and they may need to hear from President Trump himself. The senators viewed as most likely to vote for a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government are Shaheen, Ossoff and Senators Gary Peters (D-Michigan), Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire), Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan). Along with Senators John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) and Angus King (I-Maine), they would be able to provide more than enough votes to reopen federal departments and agencies later this week. Fetterman, Cortez Masto and King have voted repeatedly for a House-passed bill to fund the government through November 21st.
For today, the Senate will take up a Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #371, Eric Chunyee Tung, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit.
